Food Envy

I asked Emily who she sits with at lunch.

"Kaityln and Bethan.  Kaityln brings the best lunches.  Sometimes,  I take the wrapper from her pirate's bootie and just smell it.  I just wish I could have some.  She also has these little chocolate chip cookies that have this guy on the front."   Emily sounded like a hawk ready to pounce on her friend's snacks.  I don't want her begging for other kids' food.  Both German stores and the Commissary lack pirate's bootie, so Amazon now sends us a 24 pack box once a month.

Yesterday, Emily explained at snack time Bethan brings the best chocolate.  She passes Emily pieces of it under the table since Miss Natalie does not let them share snacks.  I told her not to sneak other people's food.  She said, "Well, Bethan keeps the bigger piece."

A mother approached Dave last week, "Where do you get those small chocolate wafers?"  It took Dave a minute, "Peppermint patties?  At the Commissary"

"Oh, they are an American food.  I have looked everywhere as Elsa comes home everyday asking for them."

I told Emily she could bring a peppermint patty to Elsa tomorrow.  "Well,  Miss Natalie does not let us share unless we have some for everyone."  I said, "You could sneak it to her."  I quickly realized I was suggesting my daughter disrespect her teacher and break the rules - over chocolate.  She loved the idea, but we decided to bring Elsa's mother a whole bag of peppermint patties during the parents' day.  I guess food envy is universal.

Marseille and Palma

We woke up in Marseille to blistering winds and 50 degree weather.   Marseille is located in Provence, an area of France known for superb wine and old Roman villages.  We decided to avoid long train rides and so limited our exploring to the city.  We walked down to Vieux Port, where ships have docked for more then 26 centuries, and caught a bus up to Basilique Notre Dame de Le Garde a Church known for its celestial views and 19th-century architecture.

The next day, we spent the morning bowling, eating, and listening to the Blue Man Group without their blue.

We ported in Palma de Mallorca.  Dave and I spent a few hours soaking in the sun walking around this romantic island.

And, the perfect family vacation ended....time to start planning the next trip.

Rome and Pisa

We ventured to Rome via the port Civitavecchia.  To avoid the $300-plus-per-person excursion, we searched for local transportation.  We arrived at a station just in time for the 8:40 train.  At 8:45, they announced a 10 minute delay, then a 15 minute one.  With each minute that passed the number of people on the platform doubled.  When the train arrived, everyone rushed to the doors, but the ones directly in front of us refused to open.  We quickly ran down the platform and jumped in the next door. We stood like matchbox sticks in a box for the next 90 minutes.  We could barely move and people seemed ready to ignite at any moment.

We went straight to the ancient city to see the 2,000-year-old Colosseum.  As soon as you exit the metro, this structure built when the Roman Empire was at its peak, stands in front of you.

We avoided the line by buying a tour from a private walking guide.  After 5 min of her introduction, we grabbed our tickets and ditched the group.  (Once inside, we realized the line actually moved - oh well.)

We walked through the Colosseum and the Forum, and ended our visit with lasagna, pistachio crusted pork, and a bottle of red wine at Enoteca Cavour 313, a Rick Steve's recommended restaurant.  With Bocelli singing in the background, I thought, "Are we really here?"

Why We (I) Love Cruises 4: The Spa.  (Need I say more?)

The next day we stopped at Livererno - a port in Tuscany.  Dave and I spent the morning wandering around the town of Pisa.  

Of course we went up the famous bell tower.

The tower leans at 3.99 degrees which causes the top to be displaced horizontally by 3.9 meters.

We spent the afternoon jumping, splashing, and playing "smurfs."

Why We Love Cruises 5: Entertainment. We saw Blue Man Group one night.  The loud music, flying red and yellow paint, and odd acts held the kids attention the whole show.  At a question and answer session later in the week, Emily asked them if a girl could join the group.  We also watched abnormally strong people contort their bodies during a Cirque du Soleil show in the boat's speigel tent.  Emily got to hold a spinning plate as part of the show.

Pompeii and Pizza

I chose this cruise for the stop in Pompeii, the ancient Roman city located near Naples.  I read about this city as a child - how the people froze in place when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.  The city remained basically untouched until the late 1700s.

The kids and I followed Jack, Annie and their tree house back in time to Pompeii in the weeks preceding our trip.  The morning we ported in Naples, Emily says, "I don't know how to say this but um I would rather go to kid's club."  Dave and I ventured off the boat on our own.

The Norwegian "excursions" cost over a hundred dollars each, so we decided to figure it out on our own.  We found a bus just off the port for 12 euro each. We just prayed it would actually get us there.

Of course we had to have pizza since it originated in Naples.  We ate two pies in the five hours we were off the boat.  

Why We  Love Cruises 3: Kids Club.  Emily and Owen loved Kid's Club this vacation.   Counselors organized arts and crafts, games, dress-up, and activities.  The boat included a four room kids center with a jungle gym where the activities took place.  Our kids preferred playing with other kids to site seeing with us - can you imagine?  So Dave and I saw Italy, France, and Spain without constant requests for food or "Emily is hitting me."  Then, we spent the afternoons with them at the pool and arcade and focused on "kid's things."

Bye-Bye Barcelona

Sunday morning we packed up, checked out, and headed to Museu Picasso.  This museum houses the best collection of his early works in the world.  The collection resides in several different Gothic palaces - making the  museum itself part of the art.  Again, we avoided the two-hour wait by purchasing advance tickets.  In one room, Emily quickly noticed the series paintings that included a little baby pigeon.  "Mommy each of these paintings are the same, but also a little different and the pigeon reminds me of me."

I promised treats, but the cafes were closed.  We headed to the port with growling stomachs and I of course worried the boat would not have food until late.  Obviously, I had never been on a cruise.

Within an hour, we sat on a sunny deck overlooking the city as we ate hamburgers, pizza, cookies, and pina coladas.  Let the vacation begin.

Why We Love Cruises 1:  Food.  We frequently struggled at meal time out last few trips.  Dave and I can barely read the menus and most restaurants we tried in Holland, France, or Germany did not serve chicken nuggets or mac and cheese.  In Spain, we stopped at McDonald's - a place we avoided at home - after our wonderful tapas meal to get Owen chicken nuggets.  The cruise provided kid-friendly food at every meal.  We found melon, hot dogs, pizza, and apple juice.  (Yes, my kids have very limited pallets.)  Plus, for seven days, we did not have to do dishes, plan meals, or grocery shop.

We spent Monday cruising down the Med.  While I wish I brought a fleece for breakfast, by the afternoon we could sit by the pool.  We shot ski ball at the arcade, practiced drawing Picasso on the deck, and crushed the big slide.

Why We Love Cruises 2: Activities.  We did not have to search for a play-ground or stay at the pool to keep out kids entertained.  In addition to the arcade, bowling ally, climbing wall and casino, we could participate in arts and crafts, three-point and ping-pong contests, and karaoke.

The kids ended the day at a pirates party while Dave and I enjoyed a dinner.

Mediterranean Vacation

We left last Friday for two nights in Barcelona followed by a seven night cruise.   We hoped the cruise would meet our "vacation" needs - pools, convenience, relaxed setting - and allow us to experience aspects of Europe.  We could see Pompeii, Naples, and Rome without staying in the chaos of southern Italy.

The kids couldn't wait.  Every night the last eight months they insisted, "Tell us about the boat."  "There will be slides, all the ice cream you can eat, hot dogs, kids club..."

We left our house at 11:00 and arrived, via Frankfurt airport, at our hotel in Barcelona by 4:30.  Located in the Catalunya region, Barcelona is considered Spain's second city.  We hopped on the clean and easy metro system to the Eixample district to eat dinner and passed Casa Mila  by Gaudi, a Catalan famous for his Modernista architecture.  Dave and I loved the tapas and the sangria - though we stopped by Micky D's for nuggets for Owen.

Saturday morning we visited Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's most famous and still unfinished church.  He began the project in 1883 and even today it is not expected to be completed for another 30 years. As we walked around the line to enter, passing hundreds of people, I clutched my advance tickets a little tighter.  We went straight to the Passion facade elevator to take us 215 feet up to view the city and the Church's on going construction.

 

Owen could not ride the elevator so we snuck granola bars and hid from guards while Emily and Dave went up.

I found the Church breathtaking and so unlike any cathedral we visited.

Next, we stopped at a playground - Dave had to get his energy out.

I wanted to hit Rick Steve's top places - his three triangle "don't miss" sites.  He provided a walking tour for the next site, the Ramblas, Barcelona's main drag.  Since I forgot to pack our I-product chargers, we hit the Apple store as well.  (We also searched for socks for Owen and pajama's for Emily - so much for organized packing.)  We started in Placa de Catalunya, the main square with a beautiful fountain and lots of pigeons.

We did a "short sweet walk" for a three-stop dessert.  We ate turron at Casa Colomina.  The churros place was closed for siesta, but we loved the chocolate at Fargas, a shop founded in 1827.

We wondered through Barri Gotic, the Gothic Quarter an found a cool store that made belts and bags out of old Barcelona banners.  Of course, I had to get a belt.

At the bottom of the Rambles, we bowed to our favorite mime, rode the lion, and rested on the pier.